fake

¹ American  

[feyk] / feɪk /

verb (used with object)

faked, faking

1. prepare or make (something specious, deceptive, or fraudulent).

   to fake a report showing nonexistent profits.

2. to conceal the defects of or make appear more attractive, interesting, valuable, etc., usually in order to deceive.

   The story was faked a bit to make it more sensational.

3. to pretend; simulate.

   to fake illness.

   Synonyms:

   fabricate, sham, dissemble, affect, feign

4. to accomplish by trial and error or by improvising.

   I don't know the job, but I can fake it.

5. to trick or deceive (an opponent) by making a fake (often followed byout ).

   The running back faked out the defender with a deft move and scored.

6. Jazz.

   1. to improvise.

      to fake an accompaniment.

   2. to play (music) without reading from a score.

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verb (used without object)

faked, faking

1. to fake something; pretend.

2. to give a fake to an opponent.

noun

1. anything made to appear otherwise than it actually is; counterfeit.

   This diamond necklace is a fake.

2. a person who fakes; faker.

   The doctor with the reputed cure for cancer proved to be a fake.

   Synonyms:

   deceiver, charlatan, quack, impostor, fraud

3. a spurious report or story.

4. Sports. a simulated play or move intended to deceive an opponent.

adjective

1. designed to deceive or cheat; not real; counterfeit.

verb phrase

1. fake out

   1. to trick; deceive.

      She faked me out by acting friendly and then stole my job.

   2. to surprise, as by a sudden reversal.

      They thought we weren't coming back, but we faked them out by showing up during dinner.

fake ² American  

[feyk] / feɪk /

verb (used with object)

faked, faking

1. to lay (a rope) in a coil or series of long loops so as to allow to run freely without fouling or kinking (often followed bydown ).

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noun

1. any complete turn of a rope that has been faked down.

2. any of the various ways in which a rope may be faked down.

fake ¹ British  

/ feɪk /

verb

1. (tr) to cause (something inferior or not genuine) to appear more valuable, desirable, or real by fraud or pretence

2. to pretend to have (an illness, emotion, etc)

   to fake a headache

3. to improvise (music, stage dialogue, etc)

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noun

1. an object, person, or act that is not genuine; sham, counterfeit, or forgery

adjective

1. not genuine; spurious

fake ² British  

/ feɪk /

verb

1. to coil (a rope) on deck

---

noun

1. one round of a coil of rope

Usage

What is a basic definition of fake? Fake describes something as not being real or as being an imitation that is designed to trick someone into thinking it is real or original. Fake also refers to a forgery or copy and is used to mean to pretend. Fake has several other senses as a noun and a verb. If something is fake, it resembles something else but isn’t exactly the same. For example, a diamond is made from pressurized carbon over thousands of years. A fake diamond might have been made from glass in five minutes. Most of the time, fake things are designed to be nearly identical to the original in order to trick or cheat someone. But not always. A resort might make fake snow out of crushed ice so it can offer skiing or snowboarding when it hasn’t snowed. The key is whether something is acknowledged or labelled as fake. Lying to customers by claiming that fake items are real is considered fraud and is against the law.

• Real-life examples: Con artists often swindle people by selling fake jewelry, watches, antiques, and other cheap copies of expensive things. A person might wear fake nails or fake eyelashes. An indoor sports stadium may use fake grass.
• Used in a sentence: I make fake swords to be used in movies. 

In this same sense, fake is used as a noun to mean a copy or fabrication.

• Used in a sentence: The car expert could easily tell if the sports car was a real Bugatti or a fake. 

Also in this sense, fake is used as a verb to mean to make something that isn’t real or is a copy.

• Used in a sentence: He faked hundreds of Roman coins before the authorities caught on to his scam.

As a verb, fake can also mean to pretend or to simulate something.

• Used in a sentence: I faked illness so I could stay home from school. 

Other Word Forms

• faker
  noun
• fakery
  noun

Etymology

Origin of fake¹

First recorded in 1805–15; originally vagrants' slang: “to do for, rob, kill (someone), shape (something)”; perhaps variant of obsolete feak, feague “to beat,” akin to Dutch veeg “a slap,” vegen “to sweep, wipe”

Origin of fake²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English faken “to coil (a rope),” of obscure origin

Explanation

You should have known that copy of the "Declaration of Independence" was a fake when you saw it was signed by "Jon Hancrock" instead of "John Hancock." Something that's fake isn't authentic. A person who falsely claims to be, feel, or do something can be said to be fake. When your friend acts sweet but spreads rumors about you behind your back, you can call her a fake. As a verb, fake means to take an action with the intent to deceive. If you've ever tried to fake a grade on your report card, you know that it's especially hard to change an F to an A.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fake faked faking

Reasons for the fake posts included wanting to give the appearance that a company was growing, and collecting resumes for later.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

President Claudia Sheinbaum has dismissed as fake news any notion that Mexico is in jeopardy of losing the collection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

In Operation Mincemeat, the British planted a corpse with fake top-secret documents implying an Allied invasion of Greece and Sardinia to provide cover for their Sicily campaign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

A fake one they’ve created—you know, capital-T They.

From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026

I sat bolt upright in the freezing simulation room, breathing hard as the very real adrenaline from the very fake simulation raced through my system.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Caligiuri faked right then cut left, the beaten defender sticking his right leg out wildly in protest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

But his ongoing suspicion around a sex offender, who faked being severely disabled, eventually saw him unravel a conspiracy that even he had never encountered before.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

They found Rich Starry faked its signal for more than 10 days until it tried to leave the Persian Gulf on Tuesday—giving it the opportunity to load up on Iranian oil products in that period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

The falsehoods -- circulating across tech platforms including X, TikTok and Facebook -- have also added fresh fuel to a longstanding conspiracy theory that NASA's 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing was faked.

From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026

Mom never knew it, but I faked a stomachache that day.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

The easy definition of flopping or diving is faking an injury to get favorable treatment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

There is nothing a referee can do about it, as they cannot accuse a player of faking an injury.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026

In Louisiana, federal authorities in July announced the indictment of top local law enforcement officers and a businessman for allegedly faking reports of armed robberies to help foreign nationals secure U visas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

“It was a matter of me riding confidently and kind of faking it till I made it,” Schaffrick said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026

And there’s one further possibility: he might have been faking the whole thing.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• bogus
• counterfeit
• fabricated
• fictitious
• forged
• fraudulent
• mock
• phony
• spurious